Where a jury returned a verdict in favor of a plaintiff on a claim for commissions, the verdict should be upheld despite the defendants’ contention that the parties’ employment agreement did not entitle the plaintiff to commissions based on “dry lease” flights.
“Plaintiff Justin Sullivan worked as a salesman for Delaware-based Dumont Aviation, selling airplane charter services and arranging private sales of Dumont aircraft. Mr. Sullivan’s compensation consisted of commissions based on percentages of Dumont Aviation’s revenues from charter flights and aircraft sales.
“Mr. Sullivan sued Dumont affiliated entities and personnel1 as defendants on April 13, 2016, alleging violations of the Massachusetts Wage Act and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. He filed an amended complaint prior to a court ruling on a motion to dismiss. The Dumont defendants filed counterclaims against him. Before trial, Mr. Sullivan voluntarily dismissed claims against one of the two individual Dumont defendants, Daniel Piraino. …
“At the summary judgment stage, I dismissed portions of the breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims, to the extent that they pertained to transactions concerning particular aircraft. Sullivan v. Dumont Aircraft Charter, LLC, 364 F. Supp. 3d 63, 88-91 (D. Mass. 2019). I also largely dismissed Defendants’ counterclaims. Mr. Sullivan voluntarily abandoned the FLSA claim when the case was presented to the jury.
“Following a...
New York announced a $4.5 million settlement on Friday with a travel booking company and three of its affiliates following a tax fraud investigation initiated by a whistleblower under the state’s ...